The statutes and rules controlling timelines in CHIPS cases are derived from state and federal law. The expedited nature of the current timelines are designed to prevent “foster care drift,” which is when a child lingers in foster care placement.

The county must design and implement a two-track plan to reunify the child with his/her parent while simultaneously planning for an alternative permanency option. This is called a “concurrent permanency plan”. For example, some foster parents agree to adopt a child when and if she/he becomes legally free for an adoption.

The following timeline is an example of how a case would proceed if it related to a non-Indian child who has been removed from his/her custodial parent’s home: